424 Greenpower

The first-ever PERRINN 424 car to race in real life

We are building a small PERRINN 424 electric racing car that will compete in the UK Greenpower Championship

The challenge

The 424 Greenpower prototype (nicknamed "baby 424") is going to take part in the UK Greenpower Championship from 2026 onwards.

This competition aims at inspiring young engineers to excel in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. A leitmotiv that meets one of PERRINN's pillars as we make a point of making Motorsport more accessible and creating new opportunities for talents from around the world.

Our approach

To enter the races, we are partnering with an already established team of young people : Chainreaction, based near Bristol (UK). The car will compete in both the Formula 24 ("F24") and the Formula 24+ ("F24+") categories. The difference lies in the age of the participants and the race lengths.

Of course we remain true to our open source philosophy. All data and information is shared with our community & followers. Other teams even have the possibility to use the design of our prototype as it is completely accessible. For example, it can be scanned via the QR code displayed on the car livery.

Our goal is to prove its potential by hopefully winning the championship.

Designed to inspire young engineers

Design phase

More than 200 hours spent designing 424 Greenpower car, completing CFD & stress analysis as well as setting out the bill of material.

Aerodynamic optimisation

More than 55 tests on Bramble CFD to reduce drag as much as possible.

Numerous paths have been explored to optimize aero efficiency and reach a drag coefficient (SCx) of less than 0.065 : refined upper- and underside chassis shapes, front & rear skirts, wheel arches, pointy/narrower/lower nose (for less front wheel wake), lower/longer chassis, lower/shorter/longer tail,...

Stress-checked structures

Lightweight design is of course the way to go...while not jeopardizing overall stiffness.

Stress analysis of the chassis has been completed to find the right compromise. After extensive optimization work (chassis thickness, protective foam volume, metal parts design, material selection...), the overall weight of the car is expected to be below 64kg.

CAD data is open access in Onshape!

Every component drafted in detail

Chassis, steering wheel, battery packs & lid, bodywork, windscreen, roll hoop, motor tray, locating & quick release pins, mounting holes, chain transmission & tension mechanism, uprights, seatbelts, master switch integration, floating anchor nuts, double nuts, bolts, wheel hub & spokes, etc... all parts have been carefully detailed so that the 424 Greenpower prototype does not remain a virtual concept. Even the livery has been adapted to help with applying to the real car!

It will be produced around February-March 2026 and hit the track for real in April!

An open-source and transparent project, conceived to show what's possible when engineering becomes accessible

Manufacturing phase

The car will be assembled by the Chainreaction race team.

Every component has been designed with technical feasibility in mind :

Composite parts - chassis & bodywork components like sidepods, rear wheel fairing, tail, nose, rear cover and roll hoop cover,...
Metal parts (mainly aluminium 6061) - roll hoop, motor tray, wheels, steering components, uprights, caliper brackets,...
3D printed parts - steering wheel, headrest, battery packs, mirrors,...

The target is to have them all manufactured by April 2026, so that we can test and be ready for the season opener at Goodwood. We have already agreed on partnerships with 4 companies that are going to support us during this important phase of the project :

FLEX3D - 3D printed parts
KOMACUT - Metal parts (cut)
REVOZPORT - Composite parts
SOLFINITE TECHNOLOGY - Metal parts (CNC)

In addition to these bespoke components, a range of off-the-shelf articles will be used like mountain bike hydraulic brakes, batteries, electric motors, speed controllers, mirrors and even a radio & telemetry system.

Chainreaction team's current car weighs approximately 75kg. We are confident that "baby 424" weight will be around 62.5kg which is comparable to the top team's prototypes. Some ideas to reduce it even further are already in our mind and could lead to some updates ahead of the following season.

For now, the orders are being issued and we are about to receive the first parts. Unpacking coming soon...